Device for measuring fabric in rolls.



A. FOBARE.

DEVICE FOR MEASURING FABRIC IN ROLLS.

APPLICAUON FILED APR.16, m4.

Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

ANTHONY FOBARE, 0F YORK, N. Y.

DEVICE FOR MEASURING FABRIC IN ROLLS Application filed April 16,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ANTHONY FoBARE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, county of Richmond, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Device for Measuring Fabrics in Rolls, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relatesto a device for measuring fabrics and the like in rolls.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a device which will measure the length of a piece of fabric or other material while the same v is in rolled or folded condition. The result accomplished is, that. the fabric or other material may be measured without having to unwind and rewind the material in order to determine its length.

By using the present invention the fabric in a roll of any size may be very quickly measured while the fabric is in rolled or folded condition, and even without removing the roll from it place upon a shelf, table, or wherever it may be.

Heretofore, in taking inventories of fabrics and similar materials it has been customary to unwindthe fabric, measure it, and rewind it again. This may be done entirely by hand, or machines for. such purpose may be employed, but in all cases it has heretofore been necessary to unwind and then rewind the material. This requires considerable time, whether done by hand or by mechanical means; and it is not always an easy matter to so rewind the materials as to have their warp and weft threads under proper and even tension.

By means of the present invention, however, the material may be accurately measured while in the roll, so that the time previously occupied in handling the fabric and in unwinding, and rewinding it are saved and the result may therefore be attained in a fraction of the time previously required. Furthermore, the fabric or other material, by not having to be unwound and rewound, remains in its original and undisturbed condition.

Other objects of my invention are to provide a measuring device which will be simple, inexpensive, and which will be portable. y

In the drawings forming part of this application, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying my invention, showing the method of its use, Fig. 2 is a front ele- Specification of Letters Patent.

1914. Serial No. 832,166.

vation, with parts broken away, of the parts which hold, tension and measure the thread with which the operation of measuring the fabric is accomplished, Fig. 8 is a side elevation, with parts broken away, of the tensioning and measuring members, Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view through the tool by which the measuring thread is carried through the roll of fabric, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

The invention consists primarily of a tool for inserting a thread into the roll of fabric in such manner that the length of the fabric maybe determined by the length of thread so inserted.

. The word thread is here used, and throughout this case, in a broad sense, to mean any attenuated and flexible material which may be drawn through the roll as herein set forth. Ordinary sewing thread is preferably used because it is cheap and may be left in the roll after the measurement has been done. The word tool is also here used in a broad sense, to include any instrument adapted to accomplish the objects in substantially the manner herein set forth. Preferably, though not necessarily, this tool is a small and portable device easily carried in the hand, although I do not intend that this shall be considered as limiting the invention to the use of such an arrangement.

In addition to the tool proper there is a device for determining the length of the thread inserted into the roll, and, thereby, the length of fabric or other material contained in the roll. This device is preferably, though not necessarily, detached from the inserting tool. It is preferably separate and made heavy enough to be placed upon a table or other support and to have the thread drawn therefrom without its being displaced.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention the inserting tool 1, comprises a handle 2 adaptedto be grasped by the hand of the user; and a shank or projector 3. There is also a guard 4 which acts as a gauge, sothat the projector will extend always the same extent into the roll. The circular and dished guard 4 has a hub 5 extending from its rearv face; and the handle by means of screw threads 6. The guard t has a large inner recess 7 and a smaller recess 8 forming a shoulder at 9. The pro- Patented Aug. 3, 1915.-

2 is secured thereon, as"

jector is preferably oblong in cross section, as shown in Fig. 5, at least the portion which is projected into the roll. The inner end of this member has a head 10 which turns in the recess 7 and a reduced portion 11 which turns inthe recess 8 whereas the portion 3 projects beyond the guard a sufficient extent for the purpose indicated. The projector is held in place by the shoulder 9 on one side of the head 10 and the handle 2 on the other, but it may turn very freely in relation to the handle.

The measuring thread is preferably lead axially through the handle and projector. For this purpose I have shown an aperture 12 in the handle in alinement with a similar aperture 13 through the entire length of the projector. A ferrule 14 is arranged at the end of the handle to prevent the thread from cutting thereon. I

The device for tensioning and measuring the thread is preferably constructed as follows. There is shown a frame or case 15 comprising front and back walls 16, 17, a top 18 and a bottom 19, this frame being portable but preferably of suitable construction to be placed upon a table and remain there While the tool is being used at various positions more or less remote therefrom.

I have shown an arbor 20 arranged upon the top 18 for receiving and holding a spool 21 of suitable thread 22. At a suitable position I have placed a tension device 23 which acts upon the thread between the source of supply (the spool), and the measuring device. This tension device (and another, to

be referred to herein) may be of any desired;

construction, such for instance, as the tension devices commonly employed on sewing machines. As here shown it consists of two plates 23, 24, between which the thread is drawn. These plates are arranged upon a stud 25 and they are pressed together by a spring 26 with more or less pressure according to the adjustment of the tightening nut 27. The friction between these plates and the thread places the latter under tension. 7

There is a shaft 28 mounted in the front and rear plates 16, 17 There is a bushing 29 forming a bearing for one the shaft. The circular under portion 35 of this member is threaded to correspond with the threads on the shaft. There is a stationary bar 36 arranged near the path ofthe traveler 33, and it is provided with a scale 37 with which a pointer 38 on the traveler cooperates to indicate the extent of movement of the traveler, or rather the number of revolutions of the shaft.

The outer end of the shaft 28 carries a pulley 39 having a groove 40 to receive therein the thread 22 and the circumference of this pulley is preferably one yard, where the roll of material is to be-measured in yards.

The front of the pulley 39 is provided with a scale 41 which dividesthe circumference into equal parts; preferably into thirty-six parts, representing thirty-six divisions of the yard, orone inch to each division. There is a pointer 42 arranged on the wall 16 which cooperates with the dial 41 tov indicate the number of inches the pulley is moved from zero.

There is a second tension device'43, preferably of similar construction to the first one and it is arranged to act upon the thread between the measuring device and the inserting tool. f i

Operation: The case 15 may be placed at any convenient place inthe room and the tool used at various positions, as for instance, wherever the rolls-of fabric may be located. The distance between the measuring device andthe tool may 'vary "without effecting the result, provided the distance. is not materially altered during the measuring operation upon any given roll. The method of use is illustrated in" Fig. l. The thread measuring device is placed where desired and remains in that place while the roll 44 is being measured. The thread 22 from the thread measuring device runs from 'the tension device 43 to and through the tool; and from the end of the handle through thefhandle and the projector 3 and a sufficient distance beyond the latter to permit the user to grip the end of the thread. The projector is inserted between two layers of the fabric of the roller.

This may be near the exterior end of the fabric or the interior end, as the tool may be turned from the outside in, or from the inside out. The tool is inserted until the guard 4 rests against the end of the roll. With the parts so positioned, the operatorproceeds to place the traveler 33 at the extreme left end of the shaft 28 so that the pointer 38 is at zero on the scale 37. This may be done by lifting'the traveler off the shaft and placing it back on it at the left hand end in Fig. 3. If the pulley is not so positioned that the zero mark on the dial 41 is opposite the pointer 42 then the thread is drawn through the tool until the pulley moves around to zero position.

The parts are now set at zero and are ready for the measuring operation. The.

operator holds the free end of the thread which projects from the tool so that the thread will be drawn off the supply as the tool is moved; and at the same time the tool is moved between the adjacent layers of The tool will be moved in a circular or oval course, according to the general contour of the roll. After the tool has .made a complete turn around one layer of the fabric the free end of the thread may then be dropped because there will be sufficient friction on the cloth to hold it. Each time the tool circles it travels between. adjacent layers of fabric and it will progress from the exterior to the interior, or from the interior to the exterior of the roll, according to where the start is made. It will engage successively between the several layers of fabric, until it reaches either the inner or outer end of the fabric, as the case may be, and the operation ceases. While the tool is being thus moved through the roll the guard is kept in contact with the end of the roll, so that the projector will always extend into fabric on the roll.

the roll to the same extent.

As the tool is thus used, the thread will be drawn off the pulley 39 and will pay ofi the end of the projector, leaving a line of thread lying between the several layers of fabric from one end to the other of the latter. By keeping the projector the same distance from the end of the roll the thread will not Zig-Zag, and, therefore, the length of the thread inserted will be the same as the length of the fabric in the roll. WVhile the thread is being inserted into the roll it is being drawn from the tension device 2a which maintains a uniform tension. The thread being wound one or more times around the pulley, the latter is revolved by the thread, and it is retained under tension on one side by the tension device 43. lVhen the inserting operation has been completed the operator observes the position of the pointer 33 in relation to the scale 37. The rotation of the pulley 39 and the shaft 28 has acted through the thread connection to move the traveler 33 along the shaft in accordance with the number of turns made by the pulley. The reading on the scale 37 will determine the number of yards of thread consumed in the operation. By observing the relation of the pointer 42 to the scale 41 the subdivision of the last revolution of the pulley may be determined. This will determine the number of inches of thread used in addition to the number of yards indi cated by the pointer 38 on the scale 37. The readings are made while the tool remains at the end of the inserting operation. The readings furnish a correct measurement of the length of thread inserted in the roll; and, since the length of the thread corresponds with the length of the fabric, the latter has thus been ascertained.

At the commencement and at the end of the inserting operation the length of thread By making the projector 3 oval in cross" section and by arranging it to revolve freely upon the handle, the projector will very easily turn according to the shape of the roll and the thread will always lead off the end of the projector atthe same point. This prevents the thread from being cut on the end of the projector and prevents the thread from becoming tangled therewith.

The tension will cause the thread to be slightly extended in length during the operation, but if the tension is kept uniform and the thread used is always of the same character, the stretching of the thread will be quite uniform and it may be allowed for by making the pulley slightly less than a yard in circumference, or by calculation after the reading has been made from the scales.

After the fabric has been measured in the manner above described the thread may be broken off at the tool and an entirely new portion used in the next measuring operation. The severed portion may be left in the 1011 or not, as desired.

I have described my invention in connection with what I believe to be the simplest and most eflicient embodiment thereof, not intending to limit myself thereto, but to include all forms coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is v 1. A tool, comprising a handle, and an inserting member, said inserting member being freely revolvable in relation to the handle and adapted to be inserted between the layers of a roll of material and to be moved through the roll and following the successive layers of material and adapted to lay a thread between the layers of material, for the purpose set forth.

2. A tool, comprising a handle and an inserting member, said inserting member being oval in cross section and freely revolvable in relation to the handle and adapted to be inserted between the layers of a roll of material and to be moved through the roll, following the successive layers of material and adapted to lay a thread between the layers of material, for the purpose set forth.

3. A tool, comprising a handle and an inserting member, having communicating apertures to permit a thread to pass therethrough, said inserting member being freely revolvable in relation to the handle and adapted to be inserted between the layers of a roll of material and to be moved through the roll and following the successive layers of material and adapted to lay a thread, fed through said apertures, between the layers of material of said roll, for the purpose set forth.

4. A tool, comprising a guard member having a recess "and a shoulder, an inserting member having an enlargement revolving in said recess and held therein by said shoulder, and a handle secured to said guard member and holding the said enlargement of the inserting member in said recess, said inserting member being adapted to be inserted between the layers of a roll of material and to lay a thread therein, for the purpose set forth.

Signed at the city, county and State of New York, this 10th day of April, 1914.

ANTHONY FOBARE.

Witnesses: ,7

CHARLES G. HENsLEY, A, B. DOLLARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

7 Washington, D. G. 

